Posts
312
Joined
9/6/2015
Location
Menifee, CA
US
Falcon
5/5/2018 7:34pm
5/5/2018 7:34pm
Edited Date/Time
11/16/2020 9:44am
OK, guys help me out. I have a leaky wheel and I can't figure it out.
For a while I've been running Stan's tape and sealant with a generic valve. The thing holds air well enough for one ride but the next day it will be down 10-15 pounds. I've lived with it for a while but today I decided to change it up.
I wasn't convinced the wheel tape was good because it just didn't seem like it was sticking when I put it on. So instead, I tried some Gorilla tape like I've heard. I cut it to the proper rim width, ran a good overlap, and filled up my tire. The thing went flat in less than a half hour, so I tried again with more overlap. Flat again. I sprayed some soapy water on the valve stem and all the spokes and it's bubbling by the valve, so I chucked the valve and bought a Stan's valve. Unwrapped all the tape and went with a fresh, double-wrap of new product, installed the new valve and aired it up. Still no good!
I've spent 4 hours in the garage today trying to get this thing together and it's like I'm cursed. I've been trying to figure out what can possibly be wrong, and all I can think of are the following possibilities:
1) The old valve was leaky and the brand new one is too (unlikely);
2) The Gorilla Tape allows air through it. (Is this possible? It's much stickier and I took immense caution to put it down flat and tight. There's no way air is getting around it.)
3) The rim profile is somehow bent and doesn't allow for a flat seal. This seems like the most likely, but it doesn't look out of round or anything. The wheels are about 6 months old (came with the new bike,) and I've never damaged them.
4) Air is getting around the tape and getting past one or more of the internal spoke holes, then finding its way out at the valve stem. (Again, I put two wraps of Gorilla tape down and it's on flat & tight. I don't think this is happening.)
5) The interface between the valve stem and the inner rim isn't sealing. Right now I'm running the rubber seal on top of the tape instead of cutting the tape and running rubber against metal. Is that OK?
SO, what's going on? I don't want to run tubes again. HELP!!!
For a while I've been running Stan's tape and sealant with a generic valve. The thing holds air well enough for one ride but the next day it will be down 10-15 pounds. I've lived with it for a while but today I decided to change it up.
I wasn't convinced the wheel tape was good because it just didn't seem like it was sticking when I put it on. So instead, I tried some Gorilla tape like I've heard. I cut it to the proper rim width, ran a good overlap, and filled up my tire. The thing went flat in less than a half hour, so I tried again with more overlap. Flat again. I sprayed some soapy water on the valve stem and all the spokes and it's bubbling by the valve, so I chucked the valve and bought a Stan's valve. Unwrapped all the tape and went with a fresh, double-wrap of new product, installed the new valve and aired it up. Still no good!
I've spent 4 hours in the garage today trying to get this thing together and it's like I'm cursed. I've been trying to figure out what can possibly be wrong, and all I can think of are the following possibilities:
1) The old valve was leaky and the brand new one is too (unlikely);
2) The Gorilla Tape allows air through it. (Is this possible? It's much stickier and I took immense caution to put it down flat and tight. There's no way air is getting around it.)
3) The rim profile is somehow bent and doesn't allow for a flat seal. This seems like the most likely, but it doesn't look out of round or anything. The wheels are about 6 months old (came with the new bike,) and I've never damaged them.
4) Air is getting around the tape and getting past one or more of the internal spoke holes, then finding its way out at the valve stem. (Again, I put two wraps of Gorilla tape down and it's on flat & tight. I don't think this is happening.)
5) The interface between the valve stem and the inner rim isn't sealing. Right now I'm running the rubber seal on top of the tape instead of cutting the tape and running rubber against metal. Is that OK?
SO, what's going on? I don't want to run tubes again. HELP!!!
Not all valves work with all rim profiles, Roval suggests their valve, and magic does the same.
Gorilla tape is not completely air tight, while the stans tape is. If there is any corrosion on the rim bed it will let air into the spoke holes and around the tape.
Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll go back to the Stan's tape. I'm still not sure that's what is causing this leak, though. There's a lot of air coming out. It's blowing big, fast bubbles from under the nut on the valve stem.
-+1 for bigger rubber o-ring in between the rim and valve collar
-with the valve installed and collar hand tight, put the wheel on the ground and push on the valve from the back to create more slack for spinning the collar even further - obviously we want to be able to get the valve out in an emergency on the trail so dont over tighten or use a tool to tighten
-it takes time for sealant to work - if air is coming out at the valve, install everything including sealant and get the sealant where the leak is. spin the wheel so the valve is at the bottom, and gently shake the wheel so sealant will splash the valve over and over again. you can also gently bounce the wheel against the ground with leaky side hitting the ground.
By the way, in my most recent attempts I've been using no sealant in the wheel, just to see if it holds air at the stem. Does the Gorilla tape need to be "conditioned" with sealant to work?
Obviously, I intend to run sealant for punctures but I was just planning on squeezing it in through the valve stem after determining I didn't have to disassemble again..
Another solution could be to get the specific WTB valve. It is designed to work with WTB rims and should fit yours well.
Good luck
I've been heating up a phillips screwdriver to puncture the tape over the stem hole.
If nothing else works i would suggest getting the rubber conversion strips with the valve moulded into the strip.
Either that or getting the WTB TCS valves what are made to slot directly into the channel.
I'm going to try the rubber o-ring trick first; that should go between the cone-shaped rubber piece on the valve stem and the inside of the rim, against the wheel tape, right? (That's where the air has to stop.)
You shouldn't have to put an o ring on the outside of the rim. That means air and air pressure is getting to a place where it isn't supposed to be. That means sealant and other liquid will be getting to the spokes and causing corrosion.
I had this same problem on another WTB rim (an older frequency rim).
Good luck! - I mean it, I've been there, and I do tubeless conversions for a living!
For now, I'm giving up. I just grabbed a tube and went riding over the weekend. I'm over it. Gonna recharge for a few weeks or months and then try again... start all over with branded wheel tape and some professional help.
I had been using the cheap "universal" tubeless valves and the air was escaping around the valve stem. Gushing out, in fact. I bought a new Stan's universal valve some time ago thinking it would help, but I was having the same problem. Since it was almost time for a new wheelset anyway, I figured I'd just start all over when I got the new wheels. The ones I chose came pre-taped from the factory, so I figured they would be good. Well, I tried the Stan's valve and got nothing. I was able to seat the tire, but the damn thing went flat in less than 30 seconds. I had sealant in there, and of course it made a toxic mess all over my garage!
I figured I'd either stomp on down to the bike shop and offer to pay $10,000,000 to the first person who could keep air in my tubeless tires, or try a different approach; so I got some Orange Seal valves. These are a little pricier ($25,) and have a few color options in the bag for the lock nut. They come with an o-ring as part of the design, so I figured that might help as well. How'd they work? Perfect. First try. No more leaking.
It may be some crazy coincidence, but the Orange Seal hardware fixed my problem. I'm sold!
I decided to install new rim tape and this time I merely took a awl and poked a small hole for the valve to go through. Now, the valve was sealing against the rim tape, and not the rim itself. I haven't had any issues with it since I did this. works like a charm.
The moral of the story is: don't cheap out on the valves, guys!
Post a reply to: Tubeless help, please! (Update)